Rube Goldberg contraptions are cool no matter what—but getting one to mechanize dinosaurs, WWII, the Cold War, and the 2012 apocalypse is extra icing. Extra extra icing is the machine's 244 steps—a new world record for convoluted mechanisms.

From the maddening board game Mouse Trap to that awesome OK GO video (to the hundreds of brilliant…
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The project, entitled "The Time Machine," was created by the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers/Society of Professional Hispanic Engineers. How'd they get the crazy thing to work so smoothly? By hitting it with a hammer to make sure all the components were tight and together. Engineers of tomorrow: hit your shit with a hammer to make sure it's perfect. Great job, guys. [via PopMech]

Monster Machines is all about the most exceptional machines in the world, from massive gadgets of destruction to tiny machines of precision, and everything in between.